Reporting Your Bird Sightings

Welcome to Maryland BirdReporter! Efficient reporting of sightings of rare and unusual species provides opportunities for others to see the bird. However, managing access to the site can be challenging. The following tips may assist discoverers of rare birds to optimize observation opportunities for others while maintaining good will with landowners and fellow birdwatchers.

It is important to provide sufficient documentation to allow the MD/DC Records Committee to make a quick and accurate assessment of the acceptability of the sighting. MOS presents below a handy listing of all those organizations or individuals who should also be notified as quickly as possible should you see a rare or unusual bird in Maryland. For your convenience hotlinks are provided where appropriate and available. Rare Bird Alerts that serve the Mid-Atlantic area should also be notified.

Which species sightings should you report? See the MD/DC Records Committee Review List for further information. You will also want to consider reporting sightings of species which occur before or after their typical arrival or departure dates, or which are located in unusual habitats.

¹Discussion group submissions are restricted to subscribers. If you do not subscribe to a list, ask a friend who does to post the message for you.

A short report of your sighting should include: your name, the species seen, location (be as precise as possible, list Delorme coordinates if possible). In case the compiler has additional questions, you may also wish to leave a phone number where you can be reached.

After you report to the RBAs, send a more detailed report to the MD/DC Records Committee. See the Records Committee's Documentation Guide to reporting and other instructions for a formal submission.